Just sneezing at this fungus seems enough to turn it blue. Whenever it’s touched or damaged it instantly turns a most intense and brilliant shade. One of a few blue edible mushrooms and is an exception to the blue staining bolete rule. A safe rule to follow as there are a number of toxic ones to be wary of, like Boletus sensibilis and B. subvelutipes.

….a colorful species of jacamar (Galbulidae) which is known to occur in Bolivia, Brazial and Peru. Bluish-fronted jacamars typically occur in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and like other members of the family Galbulidae are insectivores. Hawking from a perch and catching insects in flight with its long-thin bill.

***Warning*** Please do not try to identify or ingest either of these species on your own, as especially psilocype mushrooms are INCREDIBLY difficult to distinguish from other extremely deadly fungi! I am not suggesting or promoting the use of these mushrooms, but the knowledge and lore surrounding their use and history as presented by Richard Alan Miller. Be safe and think cautiously!***

Yeah! I’m not going to write out all the history and everything behind it, honestly because it’s just way to fucking much, but here is some background and praxis relating to both Psilocybe Mushrooms and Fly Agaric:

“PRIMARY EFFECTSColored hallucinations, muscular relaxation, hilarity, inability to concentrate, alteration of time and space perception, and feelings of total isolation from the environment. Peak occurs from one to one and a half hours after ingestion. Total experience is approximately six hours.

PREPARATIONThere is really no preparation other than making sure all manure or dirt is off the mushroom. They should not be stored in a plastic bag and frozen. If you wish to store them, the only correct way is to string them by the stems and hang them up upside down, free to air dry. Once they have completed dried, then they can be powdered and placed in a bag that can “breathe.” The best way to serve the dried mushroom is to powder it and mix it with a favorite liqueur. Heat over 150 degrees F will destroy much of the psilocin. In other words, speghetti dinners are nice only if the mushrooms are added to the sauce at the last moment.

RITUAL USESex magic: The first use of sex within the rituals of western traditions of magic began with the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an 800-year-old Masonic order in Germany. Members had studied the Hindu traditions of Tantra and found that the energy contained in those rituals was greater than in any other known technique. At the turn of the century, Aleister Crowley became their new Outer Head of the Order (O.H.O.) and rewrote those rituals for a more contemporary application. For a clear picture of this technique, it is recommended that the student first read chapter 16 of The Tree of Life by Israel Regardie, followed by pages 82-86 of Liber Aleph, The Book of Wisdom or Folly by Aleister Crowley…Mexican Love Feast: Each adult takes four, five, six, or thirteen pairs of mushrooms and experiences his or her own inner ecstasy while sharing feelings of brotherly love with the others. The curandero may chant or dance periodically during this event. Mexican Prophecy Ritual: Before the ceremony a chocolate beverage is usually served. Women sing, dance, and clap hands. The curandero gathers some corn, parrot feathers, cacao beans, copal resin, green tobacco, and bark paper. He has fasted since noon of the preceeding day. For five days he has abstained from sex, alcohol, meat, and salt. This will continue for another five days after the ritual (otherwise he believes that he risks going mad). At sunset the altar candles are lit. Those present are seated on the floor. The question for prophesy is decided and clarified. The mushrooms are then eaten in pairs during a period of one hour. As many as fourteen pairs can be eaten. No one is allowed to leave. Silence is maintained. The curandero rubs green tobacco on his head and stomach and on the back of his neck. He blows out the candles. At 1:00 A.M. the prophecy begins.Note of Caution: Make absolutely positive identification of the species of mushroom to be used. Also note that P. baeocystis contains other alkaloids that should not be used by any one with respiratory problems. In Mexico it is said that the mushroom is capable of driving a person mad if certain precautions are not taken. For this reason pregnant women do not consume the mushroom in Oaxaca.”

…

FLY AGARIC

Amanita muscaria(Soma)

"PRIMARY EFFECTSDizziness, twitching, and possible nausea after thirty minutes followed by numbness of feet and twilight sleep for two hours, hallucinations both visual and auditory. The experience lasts from four to ten hours. Muscarine is a highly toxic hallucinogen, being a tropane. Muscimole is a CNS hallucinogen. Ibotenic acid causes flushing of the skin and lethargy or drowsiness.

PREPARATIONThe fresh mushroom should be sliced vertically in ½-inch segments and heated in an oven at 165 degrees-175 degrees F until dried. The muscarine will mostly evaporate out of the mushroom and the ibotenic acid alter to muscimole. It is recommended that you have a friend available to help you in any emergency. The amount eaten should be conservative, perhaps a ¼ to a ½ of one mushroom with an 8-inch diameter, until you have a personal data on your own body’s reaction. Fasting is critical. The body does filter the muscarine, so you may wish to save the urine. Mushrooms that have dried unplucked in the ground are believed to be the most potent.

RITUAL USESoma has been regarded as spiritual food, which aids the growth of the spiritual body. Initiation (where the spirit comes out anew) occurs when this chemistry affects your psychic body. It is a major hallucinogen that defies comparison. Soma is the “flesh of the gods.” It is therefore used in initiation ceremonies and for spiritual growth.Among the Koryaks, the women prepare the mushrooms for the men by moistening and softening them in their mouths and then by rolling them in their hands into sausage-shaped morsels. The men either chew these or swallow them whole. Usually three agarics are taken, one large and two small. Sometimes ten to twelve are eaten, but this could easily be a lethal dose.Mushrooms are also added to soups, sauces, reindeer milk, or bogberry (similar to blueberry juice.The Kamchadals prepare a wine by fermenting a mixture of amanita and bogberry juice. The Aryans, as described in the Vedic hymns, gathered the mushrooms by the light of the full moon. The juices were then pounded out, filtered through a woolen cloth, mixed with water, milk, honey, or barleycorn infusion, and drunk during magical and religious rites.The magical balance can be seen between muscimole and muscarine: although both are hallucinogens, they produce opposite effects on the body. One counters the effect of the other. One is a food for the spiritual body, the other a poison for the physical body.

Note of Caution: Although relatively small quantities of muscarine exist in A. muscaria, this is not true with other species, including A. pantherina, which is a white to yellow-white variety. Proper identification is extremely important.The standard antidote for muscarine poisoning is atropine. If one of the more lethal amanitas (A. phalloidso or A. verna or A. verosa) has been ingested, there may be some chance of saving the victim’s life if 1. There is immediate medical attention2. There is an immediate administration of antitoxin3. There is a continuous intravenous administration of glucose to maintain the rapidly diminishing blood sugar level”

– This information comes from The Magical and Ritual Use of Herbs by Richard Alan Miller Copyright 1983, 1993, Destiny Books